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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23673097">Promises</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian'>xtremeroswellian</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Smallville</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Friendship, Gen, Grieving, Hurt/Comfort, Spoilers for "Crossfire", Spoilers for "Roulette", Support</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 01:49:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>583</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23673097</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>His new favorite place to start and end patrol was the top of the Watchtower. It was, after all, the best view of Metropolis.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Chloe Sullivan &amp; Oliver Queen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Promises</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>His new favorite place to start and end patrol was the top of the Watchtower. It was, after all, the best view of Metropolis. He liked to think being there gave him perspective. And over the last few weeks, and in particular, the last few days, he’d gotten a healthy dose of just that.</p>
<p>After meeting Mia, and after throwing himself at Lois and having that blow up in his face, he’d taken a good long look at what he was doing. On who he’d become. And he’d come to realize that while he’d always care about Lois, his feelings toward her were more platonic than he’d thought.</p>
<p>Because when he slept at night (on the nights that he managed to sleep, that is), it wasn’t Lois that was on his mind.</p>
<p>Making his way inside the window Chloe left unlocked for him, he slid inside and pushed his hood back and pulled his glasses off. Drawing in a breath, he quietly made his way down the stairs, pausing at the bottom when he spotted her at her computer.</p>
<p>Her back was to him, and her hands weren’t on the keyboard. They were covering her face. And given the fact that her shoulders were shaking, he realized with a pang that she was crying. He swallowed hard and slowly made his way toward her.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>She’d been working intently for nearly five hours, trying to track down the Kandorians for Clark. She didn’t even know at what point she’d begun to cry, but once she started, she couldn’t seem to stop. And then she’d realized she didn’t have to. She was alone there. No one was around to witness her moment of weakness. She let her shoulders slump and buried her face in her hands to muffle the sobs that wouldn’t stop coming.</p>
<p>She cried for wasted time, for a life cut short that shouldn’t have been. She cried for the dissolving of a friendship that had meant more to her than just about anything in the world, except perhaps saving the world. She cried for being unable to save someone that hadn’t turned out to be worth saving, and for the fact that she now doubted her instincts when it came to people. And she cried for herself, because she was utterly alone, and lost and hurting and the one person she’d thought she could count on to be there cared more for her cousin than he did her or anyone else.</p>
<p>But when she felt herself being pulled from the chair and into a pair of strong arms, she didn’t think twice before burrowing into them. Some part of her knew it wasn’t Clark, but the body was just as solid, if not more comforting somehow. Though her eyes were closed, she could feel the smooth leather against her cheek as he held her tightly, voice murmuring soothing words against her ear that she didn’t bother to listen to but somehow felt anyway.</p>
<p>As he held her, stroked a hand down her hair and then down her back with more tenderness than she’d ever realized he possessed, she began to realize that maybe he was putting her back together as she’d done for him not that long ago.</p>
<p>“I’ve got you,” Oliver whispered, keeping her close, her face buried against his chest.</p>
<p>“Don’t let go,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.</p>
<p>He shut his eyes and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I won’t,” he told her quietly, his words a promise.</p>
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